Designing an Arbitration-Based Medical Injury Dispute Resolution System for New York Health Systems

Overview

The existing system for medical liability litigation increases the cost of providing effective, quality health care in New York State and the nation. Litigation affects care and costs by encouraging the practice of defensive medicine, and decreases patient access to care, especially in obstetrics. Most patients who suffer an injury during the course of medical care are not compensated, and only a small proportion of injured patients choose to file a claim. For those patients who are injured and do file a claim, the length of time until the claim is resolved averages five years. When patient claims are successful, more than half of the dollars paid are consumed by overhead costs. With support from NYSHealth, Common Good identified and tested alternative approaches to litigation, particularly those that would not require State legislation, such as arbitration.

Grant Goals:

Common Good hoped to achieve the following goals:

Develop an arbitration-based dispute resolution pilot that could be tested in New York State, whereby individuals pursue dispute resolution in a consensual, private, and adjudicative manner.

Grant Outcomes:

Common Good accomplished the following:

Conducted legal analysis of the feasibility of implementing an arbitration-based dispute resolution system, including whether legislation or regulatory actions would be required.

Secured hospital partners to design the structure of the arbitration system, including protocols for patient and provider participation.